In characterizing Renoir’s art, Cézanne once said that his old friend had “painted the woman of Paris.” Cézanne’s insight provides the point of departure for this lecture, "Renoir and the Woman of Paris: Anne Distel," which takes a closer look at Renoir’s female figures."

Anne Distel

Anne Distel, a specialist in Impressionist painting, is emeritus curator-at-large of the French patrimony. During her distinguished career in the Musées de France, she organized important exhibitions devoted to Renoir, Seurat, and Caillebotte, among others.

Impressionism expert Anne Distel shows Renoir's Bal du Moulin de la Galette and reads a contemporaneous quote about the painting's inspiration. Distel admits that the real setting was "seedy", and far less tame than the painting would suggest.